Chapter 8 – Managing the Work-Family Interface. Work-family balance represents: ◦ Satisfaction with the effectiveness of one’s work role in relation.

Women & Men in Management

Chapter 8 – Managing the Work-Family Interface

Work-family balance represents:◦ Satisfaction with the effectiveness of one’s work

role in relation to the effectiveness of one’s family role

Good work-family balance is dependent on management of work-family interface◦ How work role influences family role, and vice

versa

Finding Work-Family Balance

Three variables: marital status, parental status, spouse’s employment status

Six basic combinations:1. Single, no children2. Married, no children, spouse employed3. Married, no children, spouse not employed4. Single, children5. Married, children, spouse employed6. Married, children, spouse not employed

Define Family

Why are these combinations too simple?◦ Divorce◦ Separation◦ Widowed◦ Remarried◦ Same sex vs. opposite sex couples◦ Unmarried couples with children◦ Importance of parents, siblings, extended family

Today, those first three variables are not enough to define the family life of each individual!

Define Family

Men◦ As they become more successful in their careers,

they are more likely to have a spouse and children

Women◦ As women assume managerial positions at higher

levels, they are less likely to be married or have children

Family Structures in Management

Individuals are subject to bias in the workplace based on marital status, parental status, family diversity:◦ Singlism

◦ Men taking paternity leave

◦ Relocation job offers

Bias in the Workplace: Family Diversity

Optimistic view◦ Involvement in one role enhances functioning in

the other.◦ A heightened sense of well-being and subjective

career success Pessimistic view

◦ Attempting to participate in both work and family roles to a significant extent results in a time bind

“Trade-offs” view◦ There are costs and benefits to juggling family and

work, the challenge is to minimize costs and maximize benefits

A Juggling Act

Work and family roles will inevitably interfere with each other

Work-family conflict ◦ Results from pressures from work and family roles

that are mutually incompatible◦ Has negative consequences for

Employees Family members Employers

Conflict Perspective: Work-Family Interface

Three types of work-family conflict occur:◦ Time-based conflict

Time spent working cannot be devoted to family activities, and vice versa

◦ Strain-based conflict Strain in one role spills over into the other role

◦ Behavior-based conflict Occurs when incompatible behaviors are required for

work and family roles

Conflict Perspective: Work-Family Interface

Social support in one role for involvement in the other role◦ Tangible

Information Advice Assistance

◦ Intangible Affirmation Affection Trust

Alleviating Work-Family Conflict

Work and family roles continually enrich or enhance each other

Work-family enrichment◦ Extent to which individuals’ experiences in one

role improve the quality of life in the other role◦ Has considerable positive consequences

High job satisfaction & organizational commitment Family satisfaction and overall health

Enrichment Perspective: Work-Family Interface

Work-family enrichment occurs when resources generated in one role are applied to positively affect the other role◦ Skills◦ Perspectives◦ Psychological and physical resources◦ Social-capital resources◦ Flexibility◦ Material resources

Enrichment Perspective: Work-Family Interface

Individuals vary in preference to segment or integrate work and family roles◦ Segmenters

Prefer to keep these roles disconnected by maintaining boundaries between work and family

◦ Integrators Prefer to have roles interwoven in their lives by

merging or blending various aspects of work and family

Work and Family as Segmented or Integrated

Segmenters◦ Experience less work-to-family conflict◦ Are able to turn off work stressors in the family

role◦ Leave behaviors at the office that would be

dysfunctional in the home

Integrators◦ Transfer positive effects from work to family◦ See relevance in applying skills and perspectives

from work to their family roles◦ Experience more work-to-family enrichment

Segmenters vs. Integrators: The Trade Off

Objective career success◦ Measured by:

Earnings Level of position in the organizational hierarchy Rate of advancement

◦ Positively related

◦ Involves more status-based satisfiers

◦ Does not always necessarily lead to career satisfaction

The Meaning of Success

Subjective career success

◦ Measured by: Potential for advancement Job security Relationships with coworkers

◦ Positively related

◦ Involves more socioemotional satisfiers

The Meaning of Success

Objective family success:◦ Measured by

Marital or relationship status Number of children, children’s activities, number of

friends Objective family success is too limited and

does not accurately describe family situation

Subjective family success:◦ Family satisfaction◦ Quality of family life

The Meaning of Success

Paradox of the contented female worker◦ Research findings of women who achieve less

objective success than men but maintain the same amount of subjective success Lawyers Human service workers Hospitality managers, etc.

Reasoning◦ Women may expect less objective success than

men◦ Women value objective success less than men do

Sex Differences and Success

Paradox of the contented female business owner

Reasoning◦ Female business owners place less value on

achieving business success in traditional terms◦ They are more concerned with the quality of their

relationships with employees and contributions to society

Sex Differences and Success

Decisions in one role (work/family) that are influenced by factors in the other role.

Decisions regarding the work domain:◦ Role entry◦ Role participation◦ Role exit

Work-Family Decisions

Decisions vary from:◦ Whether to work part-time or full-time◦ Whether to start a business◦ Number of hours to devote to a job or business◦ Whether to go through a voluntary employment gap◦ Whether to quit a job

Overall, women’s work decisions likely to be more influenced by family

Decline in gender role endorsement ◦ Leading to more males who take family into

consideration

Work-Family Decisions

Recommended Actions for Organizations

1. Offer counseling when organizational decisions affect the family

2. Offer employment assistance to spouses of relocated employees

3. Offer assistance to employees in meeting child care and elder care needs

4. Offer flexible work arrangements to employees when possible

5. Make telecommuting available to qualified employees

6. Offer training on how to deal with family issues

7. Provide incentives for managers to permit subordinates to take advantage of flexible work arrangements

8. Adopt a flexible model of the successful career that does not penalize employment gaps, leaves of absence, and lateral moves

9. Set reasonable standards for the number of hours employees are required to work

Creating a Family-Friendly Work Environment

Creating a Family-Friendly Work Environment Fostering the family-friendly organizational

culture

◦ Create supportive managers to make employees feel more comfortable with family matters and work

◦ Combat singlism

◦ Mindset of employing individuals, not simply job holders

Recommended Actions for Individuals

1. Be aware of your life values regarding the importance of work and family

2. Cultivate social support from all possible sources

3. Get a mentor if possible

4. Deal with stresses in your work and family roles and in juggling the two roles by adopting appropriate coping strategies

5. Reach accommodations with partners about the role that work and family concerns will play in each other’s lives

6. If you are a trailing partner, join a support group or form one with others in similar positions

Balancing Work and Family

Extreme jobs Work-family balance Work-family interface Gender roles Gender stereotypes Singlism Conflict perspective: Work-family interface Work-family conflict Time-based conflict Strain-based conflict Behavior-based conflict Social support Gender egalitarianism Enrichment perspective: Work-family

interface Work-family enrichment Skills Perspectives Psychological resources

Physical resources Social-capital resources Flexibility Material resources Segmenters Integrators Segmentation preferences Objective career success Subjective career success Status-based satisfiers Socioemotional satisfiers Paradox of the contented female worker Paradox of the contented female business

owner Work-family decisions Role entry decisions Role participation decisions Role exit decisions

Chapter 8 Terms